


One in Over a Thousand

by LovingAlex



Series: "Hello, Dean" [4]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Awkward Castiel (Supernatural), Carnivals, Cute, Cute Castiel/Dean Winchester, Fairs, M/M, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, idk what to tag this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-03
Updated: 2019-12-03
Packaged: 2021-02-18 11:49:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,866
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21660358
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LovingAlex/pseuds/LovingAlex
Summary: Dean is working a fundraising kissing booth at the fair. And at some point had kissed his soulmate???? But he has no clue who it was, how will he find them in such a big area?
Relationships: Castiel/Dean Winchester
Series: "Hello, Dean" [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1193597
Comments: 14
Kudos: 156





	One in Over a Thousand

It’s fair season once again.

This year, like every other fair in the past 6 years, Dean has helped set up a kissing booth. All funds go to a legitimate hospital to help young children battling with Leukemia. 

It started out small. Just an 18 year old Dean with his friend Charlie and his little brother Sammy, setting up a tiny booth in the vendors' building. Luckily (Charlie says its only because of Dean’s looks) they became rather popular in a short amount of time. By their third fair, they had their own tent snuggled in between the games and the field of rides.

This year’s pumpkin/fall festival has gone off without a hitch.

Fifty cents for a peck on the cheek, a dollar to get both cheeks kissed like some sort of European greeting. Those ones are always the silliest and Dean loves doing them all dramatically.

He has kissed so many people he’s lost count, but he’s already saved up around $1,000 in about 3 hours so it’s definitely worth it. There’s been some cute girls, some repeats, even a few men, which Dean doesn’t mind. 

They’re all cheek kisses anyways, no threat to his very stubborn seat within his closet. 

Around 11:30, a man slows to a stop in front of the booth. Dean gives him his signature debonair smile and greets him. The guy doesn’t answer. Which, given the fact that his eyes are busy intently reading the sign describing their fundraiser, Dean will let it slide as the man being distracted.

The man looks about Dean’s age, but dresses like he’s 50. He’s wearing a button up shirt and a sweater vest that looks like it was sloppily hand knitted. One of those presents you get from a distant relative around the holidays and never  _ ever _ wear.

He… somehow pulled it off… Dean had to admit.

When the man finally turns his attention back to Dean, he gives him a smaller, more relaxed smile than he tried before. “Hello! Thinking of donating to the cause? 50 cents for a peck on the cheek, a dollar for both cheeks. I have a lovely redhead in the back if that’s more your style.” 

The man takes out an old bi-fold leather wallet and frowns at it’s contents. After a moment, he takes out the only bill and hands it to Dean.

“I wish I had more to give, but this is all that I have on me,” he explains.

Dean looks down and it turns out the man had just handed him a slightly crinkled 20 dollar bill. “Oh…  _ Oh! _ Thank you so much!”

People rarely gave more than $10, let alone $20 while wishing to give more. Dean was flabbergasted. “This deserves any kiss you want! I could give ya a few on each cheek, or your forehead, or some people like cute little nose kisses, or even eskimo kisses!”

The man waves his hands in front of him, his whole face turning red. “N-No need for that! I just- I just wanted to donate to the cause! Really!”

Dean steps around the table to stand in front of the man. “C’mon, a hug at least. Please? To show you my gratitude!” He didn’t mean to seem pushy, he was just really excited. If the man said no, then Dean would back off and respect that. Consent was key.

“I--Okay…” he opens his arms a little to allow Dean to get in close. A smile splits his face before wrapping the man up in a joyous hug and even swaying them a little bit. Goosebumps roll up his spine and tingle on his arms he’s so happy.

After a moment, he finally steps back and gives the man two friendly pats on his shoulders. “Sorry, I know it’s only 20 dollars, but it means a lot. Thanks man.”

The man nervously tugs at a curled lock of hair on his nape. “It’s no problem. I wanted to help, is all… H-Have a nice day.” With a little nervous wave, the man continues on his way.

The encounter makes Dean’s whole week and he didn’t even get the dude’s name.

…

Thanks to a rush of customers, Dean isn’t able to slip away for a lunch break until one in the afternoon.

Working down wind from food vendors while hungry was freaking torture. He practically sprinted away as soon as he got the chance.

He rolls up the sleeves of his hinley as he debates what to get off the menu of the smokey BBQ Grill stand. Since most people have already eaten, there’s not much of a wait before Dean’s order is made and ready for him to devour. 

As Dean reaches for the tray, a pop of colors on his arm catches his eye. On the inside of his wrist is a blooming forget-me-not and a blooming honeysuckle with a single little leave poking out from between them.

“Holy fuck!” he gasps, almost dropping the tray and scaring the couple in line behind him.

“Sorry! Gotta go!” he apologizes before running off.

His soulmate buds have blossomed. There’s even a little leaf! Which must mean he not only met his soulmate, but had an intimate interaction. One of the many people who visited his booth and got a kiss must’ve been them, but who?

Dean is great at remembering faces, he might be able to find them if he looks for all the people who he’s kissed today. 

On the hunt he goes!

…

He starts at the food stalls since he’s already in that section.

He recognises a few people there, but two of them have different flowers than his, one is with her soulmate already (a beautiful garden is growing on the couple’s dominant arms in sync, evidence of a long and happy relationship so far), and the last one hasn’t met theirs yet

The second place he checks is the alley of games. 

He runs into his sort-of cousin Jo while she runs the axe toss cage, but they’ve known each other since they were kids and he knows for a fact that her flowers are different. He’s seen those red and purple buds countless times, not even close to his blue and white.

The only other person he finds among the games is this one creepy guy who talks really nasally. Thankfully, he couldn’t possibly be Dean’s soulmate. He had made a mental comment about the man’s withered weeds of a soulmate mark earlier when the man was at the booth.

Next up is the field of rides. The ride lines are also fruitless, but he can’t see anyone that are already on, so he makes a note to come back for another look later.

The building with all the merchant stalls has a steady flow of people going in and out with many rows of different things being sold. However, they take him longer to get through than he’d like. Girls who recognise him there kept stopping him to be chatty, but he’s able to convince them to come to the stall again later before he slips away again. More money for the fund at least.

…

By the time he exits the building again, Sam and Charlie are blowing up his phone. The redhead has sent a handful of texts, while Sam keeps trying to call. With a sigh, Dean answers.

“Finally!! Dean, where are you? You went on break like four hours ago! People keep requesting for you but you vanished!” Sam’s yelling blasts from the speaker. Dean has to hold it a few inches from him so he doesn’t blow an eardrum.

“Relax, Sammy! Just tell them I’m busy! I’ll be back  _ after _ I’ve found my soulmate!”

“What? What are you-”

Dean hangs up before Sam can bombard him with questions he didn’t feel like answering.

…

The animal section is his last hope.

The metal cage area for the pigs don’t stink as much as the closed in wooden pig stalls, but it’s still enough to make him speed through the aisles.

Horses aren’t too bad, but no one is there. Same goes for the beef cows. The milk cows only have a few people at the end where the “Got Milk?” table is set up.

There’s a person in the rabbits building that he recognises, but when they show their mark, it’s yellow tulips and white lilies with a handful of leaves from both flowers already.

…

The petting zoo is the last tent, but by now Dean is losing hope. He spent so long looking, he might have missed his soulmate. His other half may have already left the fair by now…

But he checks anyways, just in case.

Most of the people there are families with young kids, so they’re ruled out automatically. Near the back, he sees a familiar knitted pattern and messy head of black hair. The figure is crouched down with a lamb dozing off in their lap and a baby goat leaning up against them already asleep. 

As if he could feel Dean watching him, the man looks up and meets his gaze.

Staring up in confusion at Dean’s gobsmacked face, is the man from that morning. The one who donated $20 but didn’t want a kiss...

It was that damn hug!

It made so much sense now. The goosebumps that he got was his flowers blooming, the blue of the forget me nots matching the man’s eyes, the fact that he literally couldn’t forget the man because of his generosity. If Dean remembers right, part of the meaning behind honeysuckles is a lover’s embrace. 

“Um… Hello again.” The man is the first one to break the silence and their staring. He looks to the side nervously and fiddles with the fleece of the lamb in his lap for something to do.

“Show me your soulmark,” Dean blurts without thinking, he backtracks to apologize, “Sorry, I know it’s rude to ask that when we don’t even know each other yet, but I really need to see it. Please?”

“Sure, I guess,” the man says as he begins to roll up his sleeve. There, on the inside of his pale wrist, is identical flowers to Dean’s, along with their little leaf and what seems to be a little vine beginning to grow up his arm. The man pauses in surprise. He must not have noticed just like Dean did. 

Dean clears his throat to get the man’s attention back. When he looks back up, Dean pulls his own sleeve back again to show his own mark. The man huffs out a startled breath. 

Silence follows. It seems like that’s becoming a pattern for the two of them.

Dean takes the first initiative, checking the ground for feces before sitting down in front of his soulmate.

“Let’s start over,” he extends his hand to shake, “I’m Dean. I’d love to get to know you better.”

The man takes the offered hand with a gentle smile. When their hands link together, another little honeysuckle blossoms on both of their arms. They can already tell that this relationship was going to bloom into something beautiful.

“Hello, Dean. My name’s Castiel.” 

**Author's Note:**

> I know it doesn’t EXACTLY end with “Hello, Dean” but it’s still close enough to be a part of the series!!!
> 
> I didn’t actually know what forget me nots or honeysuckles stood for until after I already picked them and was surprised at how perfectly they fit without even meaning to do it XD
> 
> Flower Meanings (thanks google):  
> \-----Forget-Me-Nots: Just as the name implies, forget-me-nots mean remembrance. It can mean the remembrance of good memories like when two people are together as a couple. It also signifies true love.  
> \-----Honeysuckles: It signifies happiness. It also means sweet disposition which might relate to the sweet smelling aroma that the flowers have. Honeysuckle also means fraternal affection or devoted affection. It symbolizes devoted affection in the form of a lover's embrace.


End file.
